63 Comments

This is a start that is active and not just speculative, and so I am behind it. Nowhere does it say we must stop here, but it is somewhere to START to make the changes we all believe in. Time before the next election is drawing short, and if we miss the opportunity to influence that election, all our talk may remain purely speculative.

[-]5 points
by ZenDogTroll
(13032)
from South Burlington, VT
4 years ago

So this is the answer to Norquist?

I need to compare it with the Sanders proposal.

And I think we need to do more than simply record lobbyist activities - I think they need to be strictly limited. It is one thing for a business or an industry to provide Congress with information, and another to push for deregulation.

I wrote this in response to another post.....but I think it sums up the strategy a little.
Somebody needs to have a webpage where the document can be presented. OWS supporters must confront every primary contestant with the document every time they speak before constituents. Persistence will get news coverage and the issue will gain momentum.

Those who do not sign will then be attacked on the issue by those who have. That is the nature of a political wedge....

OWS must, during this time, mature. It must be seen as a force that is bringing very important issues to the surface. It cannot, however, be labeled as a group of radicals.

Remember, the Grandma test.

Once the document is signed, it must be sent back to a central location....Kansas City. Somewhere in the heartland. Not east or west coast.

The movement must then offer their support to candidates who are sympathetic to our ends. You may not agree with everything about the candidate, but the core issues are all that matter during this stage.

The best time to gain their loyalty, and punish their disloyalty, is during the primaries.

Candidates will come to fear Occupiers shaming them with this damn document and the issue of getting big money out will become the sine qua non of the Occupy movement.

Eventually, OWS will be known as "The Progressives" and we may field candidates of our own. But, that may be a generation away.

The way that item was worded requires that lobbyist communicate in written form with any Congressmen or that any verbal communications be transcribed by a court reporter and the transcript then entered into the Congressional record.

The "Written Requirement" would be a simple and effective method of killing back room deals.

I agree with The Stock Amendment, but I do not think that it belongs on a constitutional Amendment. Congress simply needs to alter the loopholes that exclude them from the laws limiting trading on nonpublic information.

What do you think about having the final version passed around as an electronic petition that will be presented to politicians? My concern is how you/we are going to get this in the hands of a politician and have them take it seriously. If this got traction, many people might base their votes on who did or did not sign it.

The document has to be presented to the politician during the Primaries, when they are desperate for ten more votes. Once they have signed, it should be inferred that they shall obtain support from Occupy volunteers. During the primaries, these guys are also desperate for footsoldiers.

Once you have your signatures, then you begin publicizing who signed and who wouldn't.

You protest, harass, and campaign against ANY politician who will not sign the document.

It may take one or two election cycles for the whole process to solidify, but solidify it shall.

Somebody needs to have a webpage where the document can be presented. OWS supporters must confront every primary contestant with the document every time they speak before constituents. Persistence will get news coverage and the issue will gain momentum.

Those who do not sign will then be attacked on the issue by those who have. That is the nature of a political wedge....

OWS must, during this time, mature. It must be seen as a force that is bringing very important issues to the surface. It cannot, however, be labeled as a group of radicals.

Remember, the Grandma test.

Once the document is signed, it must be sent back to a central location....Kansas City. Somewhere in the heartland. Not east or west coast.

The movement must then offer their support for candidates who are sympathetic to our ends.

The best time to gain their loyalty, and punish their disloyalty, is during the primaries.

Eventually, OWS will be known as "The Progressives" and we may field candidates of our own. But, that may be a generation away.

But, when you say petition, you are describing a scenario in which a bunch of people sign a document and then are ignored by the politicians.

The key to politics is much the same as it is for bow hunting. You have to set up your stand at the choke points and wait. You can only shoot 50 or 60 yards, so the window to exploit the animal's vulnerability is limited.

During general elections, a disciplined group of a thousand people can be ignored.....but, during the primary, a group of one thousand motivated supporters or detractors could be fatal.

The primaries are the choke point.

The primaries are the choke point.

That is where we must apply leverage and the Pledge is the way to do that.

its about time man you may have a great future yet if you keep this shit up , because this is what its all about like the below mentioned active no more educated guesses right on it may be one of if not the first of its kind , do you have some OWS stationary tweak it out , oh so you think i am freak huh wait until you see me at an actual event and protest , i will do my part a document such as this will for sure motivate OWS ,

hey man i really want to say that you are a true and epic asset to this movement and just actually viewing this in a format is one of the biggest steps this movement will ever take weather people realize it or not , OWS is like when the world began all over again what will we discover next and on and on , OWS is a living viable entity ,

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

I like it. I wish there was evidence that politicians took any oath seriously. I think it should have penalties for signing and not living up to it. A contract, as it were, rather than a mere pledge. You know how politicians are with their promises. . .

Read other post, and I like it, Puff. No way to fit the OWS style of government-can-fix-our-problems into the R party, and should have much more effect on the friendlier-to-your-plans D side. It's a good start, especially coupled with the pledge.

I don't agree with much of what I hear around here, but diminishing the role of K street is something Americans of all stripes can get behind, and it will move R's to follow suit to remain viable against D's with this as a central issue.

This is likely the one, puff. I doubt I would agree with how you might structure the ultimate solution, but I think it makes little difference with regards to this issue. I know I'd be behind trying anything to get the say-so back into the hands of the people.

That's where this is going - eventually - give it a decade or two. I figure that should be enough time for us to stop acting like idiots - but maybe not. A confluence of global macro-forces will smash the global economy by 2020ish. We are not going have a choice

So what you are saying is that I need to immediately get rid of my 96 cents in change in my pocket, is that right, because I am accumulating capital. I would also have to stop picking up pennies in the WALMART parking lot because that would add to the acculumlation and .............................................

It is like cutting off your arm because you have a hangnail, correct? At lease that is what I read your post to say.

Remove the system sure would solve the problem. You would not only remove the money power, but also the very government that you would need to provide for and protect your alternative choices of a way of life.

(Copied and pasted from above).
Somebody needs to have a webpage where the document can be presented. OWS supporters must confront every primary contestant with the document every time they speak before constituents. Persistence will get news coverage and the issue will gain momentum.

Those who do not sign will then be attacked on the issue by those who have. That is the nature of a political wedge....

OWS must, during this time, mature. It must be seen as a force that is bringing very important issues to the surface. It cannot, however, be labeled as a group of radicals.

Remember, the Grandma test.

Once the document is signed, it must be sent back to a central location....Kansas City. Somewhere in the heartland. Not east or west coast.

The movement must then offer their support to candidates who are sympathetic to our ends. You may not agree with everything about the candidate, but the core issues are all that matter during this stage.

The best time to gain their loyalty, and punish their disloyalty, is during the primaries.

Candidates will come to fear Occupiers shaming them with this damn document and the issue of getting big money out will become the sine qua non of the Occupy movement.

Eventually, OWS will be known as "The Progressives" and we may field candidates of our own. But, that may be a generation away.

Hey puff, I was just ready to give you a little support until you posted this comment. My wife is from a German family name so you can assume where I will tell you to stuff your ideas. I do not associate with people who advocate racial and mental racism.